Servite's Cone stays focused, pulls off upset

HUNTINGTON BEACH The wait was certainly worth it for Servite's Jason Cone.

With his match against Los Alamitos' Mason Kumashiro tied at 1-1 in the third period, Cone scored a takedown to pull off the 3-1 upset victory in the 195-pound match Monday night at the OCWCA All-Star Classic at Marina High. The loss was the first of the season for Kumashiro, who was the Five Counties Invitational champion Saturday.

“I've wrestled him before,” Cone said. “We had a plan of what we needed to do. My coach and wrestling partner showed me a move they thought would work. I tried it and it worked.

“My coach keeps telling me it is all mental. I just need to be strong in the mind because it can be your worst enemy or a great weapon. My coaches kept telling me and I've kept working, running … I've been working for this.”

Both wrestlers nearly scored takedowns in the early stages of the match. Kumashiro got an escape with 1:00 left in the third period to tie it. Cone, with instructions from Coach Alan Clinton, stayed focused on the task, eventually getting the winning points.

“That's something we've tried to work on, the mental aspect of his wrestling,” Clinton said. “We felt that he wasn't there yet, but this was a huge steppingstone of just staying in a match. If anything, out of the whole thing, is just staying in the match and staying focused and working against that caliber of a wrestler.

“That's a big one for us.”

There were some other upsets in the dual. At 220, Santa Ana's Anthony Farias defeated Peter Eggert of Laguna Hills, 7-2. Steven Goltra of Pacifica defeated Kodsart Denaro of Northwood, 6-5, in a match at120 pounds.

At 126, Irvine's Ramtin Kianiazar defeated Calvary Chapel's Peter Cunningham, 7-5. Kianiazar took the county's top ranking at 126 with the victory.

The match counts toward the wrestler's 40-match season limit.

Marina's Colin Navickas (160) was scheduled to wrestle, but no opponent was found, giving him a forfeit victory.

For the second time in three days, Beckman's Anthony Anderson and Edison's Jonathan Fraser met. Anderson defeated Fraser at Five Counties on Saturday and again Monday, winning 14-3.